As far as we know, Letterman’s affairs with staffers were consensual. Workplace canoodling happens all the time, and so are young women frequently drawn to male superiors. Many find power imbalances to be very sexy — and more power (or less, as it were) to ‘em. There is nothing inherently wrong about a sexual relationship between two adults who are at different points in their careers. It would be awfully patronizing to suggest that women aren’t capable of meaningfully consenting to sex with a workplace superior. That isn’t to say I don’t pass personal judgment on Letterman for sleeping with young women who were from the sounds of it at the starts of their careers — oh, judgment abounds, believe me! But is it illegal, is it sexual harassment?

She acknowledges a few potential situations around this story, and if we find this is the case – yes, Letterman will have a sexual harassment suit to deal with. And yes, the power dynamics of sexual relationships at work between superiors and their staff can be fucked up. But it would also be fucked up for us to label these women as powerless victims who didn’t know what they were doing when as far as we know, it was consensual sex. Do I personally think it’s gross? Did Letterman do a really stupid thing? Totally. But that doesn’t mean what Letterman did was illegal. People have sex. And he’s not a politician preaching sexual morality; he’s a late night TV show host. When we see something to get up in arms about – even offenses committed by liberals – we do it. But for now, is this really worthy covering?
What is worthy to post about is the fact that conservatives can act all enraged that feminists aren’t enraged all the while making comments about Letterman’s wife being ugly and equating Letterman’s doings with the rape of a 13-year old – all for the sake of trying to call us bad liberals out. And they’re just replaying the classic conservative view of women – that we’re too stupid or not mature enough to make our own decisions (hello, “informed consent” laws). Now that’s some hypocrisy for you.
UDPATE: Reader fsu points out that Shakes hasbeen covering the story.

When the entertainment channel launched the Look Different campaign in the spring of 2014, I could not contain my excitement. The Look Different campaign focuses on microaggressions and looks to tackle the internalized bias that often lies behind problematic statements and interactions. Finally, someone in media was looking to take some responsibility for the (mis)education of the digital generations and use their power for good — or at least for better.

In an unintentionally viral video, a Saudi Arabian historian justified his nation’s ban against women drivers by arguing that it protects them from roadside rape.

Saudi Arabia’s prohibition on women driving instituted in 1990, has been defiedseveraltimes in recent years by women who have filmed themselves driving in protest. The government has responded with a crackdown, arresting women who break the law and even sending two women to a the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh which handles terrorism cases.

But don’t worry. There’s a good reason for this ban.

In a recent TV interview, historian Saleh Al-Saadoon claimed that the reason women are allowed to drive in Europe, America and ...

In an unintentionally viral video, a Saudi Arabian historian justified his nation’s ban against women drivers by arguing that it protects them from roadside rape.

A Northeastern University professor has created an interactive chart that reveals the gendered biases in students’ evaluations of their profs on RateMyProfessors.com. You can input any word — like, say, “genius” or “bossy” — and see how often it’s used by gender and academic department.

To continue with those examples, take a wild guess about how those two words broke down. Here are the results for “genius”:

And for “bossy”:

As the The Upshot sums up: “Men are more likely to be described as a star, knowledgeable, awesome or the best professor. Women are more likely to be described as bossy, disorganized, helpful, annoying or as playing favorites. Nice or rude are also more often used to describe women than men.” I’m sure if you spend ...

A Northeastern University professor has created an interactive chart that reveals the gendered biases in students’ evaluations of their profs on RateMyProfessors.com. You can input any word — like, say, “genius” or “bossy” — and see how often it’s ...